The Icicle in the Faucet

Last night was the coldest night in a year. Bitsy, poor dog, was shivering nonstop outside. I put her in the motor home: the shivering continued. Around midnight, when he came in to bed, Phil hoisted the dog up into the trailer for the first time. She nosed around for scraps, tail wagging to beat the band, then joined us in bed.

Now Joe still shares the twin bed with Phil and I, and adding a dog who has never been part of a bedroom proved to be a bit much. Bitsy just wasn't sure of her place. Phil would push her down at our feet, and she would stay for a moment, then creep up until she had her doggy face inches from our own.

Once she flopped on Joe, who woke up enough to say, "I don't like it. I want komBUCHa," before he fell back to sleep.

But after a time, I could tell that Phil had dozed off, and the dog seemed to have settled into her spot. I fell asleep.

Apparently, though, Phil's brief doze was soon interrupted by an eager-to-please dog trying to shake, toenails extended. Patience exhausted, Phil got up and put her out. But his doze had reset his sleep enough that he couldn't fall asleep, so he headed to his office (heated with just a space heater), climbed into his down sleeping bag, and then, at some point, fell asleep. Only to come to bed much later, quite cold. And while I was sort of glad to be a help meet to my cold husband by warming him, I sort of valued my warmth, too.

Despite running the heater on high all night, it felt cold in our house this morning. I could see my breath in the bathroom.

And there was an icicle hanging off the water faucet in the motor home.

Happily, the outdoor spigots still run, so the animals were watered. And though the sourdough starter was frozen on top, it was still thawed underneath, so I could make bread.

I read to the boys much of the day. Phil, having stayed up much of the night, slept much of the day, played card games with the boys, and read books on various forms of construction the rest of the time.

Warmer weather is coming even now. Our trailer feels warm again. It was just a little adventure in cold.